slow going

Not much in the way of obvious movement around the patch yet, although 9 teal on the lake mid-morning were new for the year (53).

Vote now for best patch find 08

A merlin flew past the kitchen window this morning, onto the patch year list (52). Quiet otherwise, though up to 12 cattle egrets strewn around the Clon area. Don't forget to vote for the best patch find of 2008 (see right hand side) - which of these would you most like to find on your local patch?

snipe

No time out on the patch today but did have a snipe over the house late afternoon (51).

and the last shall be first...

Today was the annual Great Island Bird Race, with 5 Cork teams meeting on the pier in Cobh at 8.30 to battle it out for the honours. We didn't really put a foot wrong all day, and by 1.00 pm were on 88, only 1 behind our paltry total for last year, when we really struggled.  Our luck held for the rest of the day, and we retired to the pub on 101, which turned out to be the winning score by 1 species! Jammy gits to a man!  Not too much in the way of highlights, with 1 cattle egret, 2 adult ring-billed gulls, 1 glaucous gull and 3 or 4 iceland gulls, long-eared owl and merlin the best.

happy new year!

Off to a flyer for 2009 with the patch year list on 50 by the end of day 1.  No real surprises, with the wintering whimbrel still in Dirk, with 2 great northern divers also there, and good numbers of guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes feeding off Galley this pm.